The Trends of Nkukut in Health Issues Among the Annang People of Nigeria

Anthonia Essien, PhD, Professor, University of Uyo, Nigeria

In the religious experiences of the Annang people of Nigeria, nkukut (spiritual ability of seeing visions, dreams and reception of messages from the spiritual beings) is very popular. This religious experience has a central place in all aspects of life of the people. The area is a fertile ground for all kinds of churches, prayer houses and independent religious movements who engage in healing practices among other things. The methodology adopted for this study was a baseline survey on eighty-six (86) religious organizations, key informant approach from hospitals and clinics and focus group discussions. Our findings are that these churches function as quasi hospitals where out-patients and in-patients are attended to by people who are not necessarily trained medical personnel. Healing and restoration are obtained through prayers, fasting and exorcism of the evil spirits. The religious experts rely solely on nkukut as means of diagnoses of illnesses. These spiritual diagnoses are often subjective and fatal. The popularity of nkukut is deeply rooted in the world-view of the people based on supernaturalism where spiritual beings and their agents (mostly witches) are believed to be solely responsible for quandary of life. We recommend holistic approach in the modus oparandi of the religious experts and call for more collaboration between the religious experts and medical personnel in health issues. We advocate the adoption of Technical Vocational Education and Training for skill acquisitions, advocacy for paradigm shift in supernaturalism and legal actions on perpetrators of negative nkukut.